Price of Life Seminar on Human Trafficking: What Difference can a Fledgling Scholar Make?

Featuring Dr. Wayne Barnard of the International Justice Mission

As a part of the week-long “Price of Life Invitational,” this special engagement with Dr. Barnard will focus on what scholars can do to engage the issue of modern-day slavery.

Slavery today is a multinational 12-billion dollar industry. It is estimated that truly mind-boggling numbers, millions, of young children are exploited for labor or forced into sexual slavery. In confronting this enormous problem, the question arises: what, aside from important financial support, can we at OSU do to address and combat human trafficking? The purpose of this event is to seek real answers to this question, especially in the context of graduate academic life. The event will be supported by the International Justice Mission (IJM), a Gates-Foundation supported organization dedicated to ridding the world of human trafficking. Dr. Wayne Barnard, Director of Student Ministries at IJM, will show a short film clip, and then will present a roughly 45-minute-long talk on the issue of human trafficking and how fledgling scholars can put their unique skills to use in the effort toward ending the modern slave trade. After, the participants and speaker will break into small groups and will discuss ways this information can be applied effectively across disciplinary lines, especially within the graduate school. This event doubtless will contain important and useful tools for addressing human trafficking applicable to the entire student body. It will address these issues from a distinctly Christian basis, but its content will fully respect other perspectives, and will provide useful information to each participant, regardless of religion or worldview.

Dr. Barnard serves as Director of Student Ministries for International Justice Mission. Dr. Barnard provides leadership for IJM’s education initiatives to mobilize students in kindergarten through college in the work of justice. His duties include building and supporting model IJM Campus Chapters, strategizing expansion of student programs and developing relationships with Christian student ministry organizations.